Daily Rhythm: Preschooler, Toddler, and Baby

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This is my third daily rhythm post to share. I write these posts in the hopes that they will help you create an organized day of harmony and productivity in your home.

Read about our daily rhythm when we had a 1 and 3-year-old.

 Read about our daily rhythm when our kids were 2 and 4.

I planned for this post to happen in early August. It’s the time of year when naturally we are thinking about revamping things to usher in a new season of learning. However that didn’t happen. It seems we didn’t “fall” into a rhythm until fall was fully underway. (Did you catch that word play there?)

Why is this? Mainly: THE BABY! But also: illness, hosting company, hosting more company, and vacation. Every week there has been a new reason that has thrown us off our “normal” until we didn’t even know what normal was. But thankfully, we are back in the swing of things. (Or maybe just now getting into the swing of things!) And guess what, this rhythm will probably have to adjust again before the school year is over.

I heard it once on a podcast (Pam Barnhill?) that when you have a baby in the mix, readjustment takes place every 3 months. This is so true and such a valuable piece of information to consider. If you think about it 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months each bring new nap cycles, troubles, and milestones.  Once you think you have something figured out things are different again! We’re having one of those years!

With all that said, here is our current rhythm. (At the time of writing this, we have a 5-year-old, nearly 3-year-old, and a baby.)

The Chart

	Mom	Preschoolers	Baby
6:00-6:30	prayer and Bible reading	asleep	asleep
6:30-7:00	getting ready	in bed waiting to get up	playing at my feet
7:00-8:00	breakfast and morning responsibilities		breakfast/nap
8:00-8:30	basket time		nap, cont.
8:30-9:00	wiggle room
9:00-12:00	outing, outdoor time, play, &/or A Joy-Filled Journey Through Preschool
12:00-1:00	lunch
1:00-2:00	screen time	nap
2:00-4:00	housework	snack, show, play	tagging along!
4:00-5:00	supper prep	play
5:00-6:00	Supper
6:00-7:00	Family Time
7:00-8:00	bedtime routine		asleep
8:00	bedtime

We certainly don’t have a chart like this hanging in our home somewhere. And baby Jeremiah’s comings and goings certainly don’t fit nicely into boxes that coordinate with what the rest of the family is doing, but here’s an attempt to portray what our days look like around the Lee home.

“In the tapestry of childhood, what stands out is not the splashy, blow-out trips to Disneyland, but the common threads that run throughout and repeat: the family dinners, nature walks, reading together at bedtime, Saturday morning pancakes.”
― Kim John Payne

Simplicity Parenting

The Details

6:00

I so badly want this time to be a time of getting my head on straight for the day by centering myself on Christ. Sometimes it looks like sleeping though. Let’s be honest.

6:30

Usually the baby is up by now. Noise travels in our home, so I take him to the most remote and sound-proof part of our house- the downstairs bathroom. And since I’m in the bathroom, I go ahead and get ready for the day. He has his toy drawer in the vanity and I fix my hair/makeup. If we don’t have plans to go out I’ll play or read to the baby, catch up on my “line-a-day” journal, or sleep in the bathtub. Okay, okay. I haven’t done the latter, but I’ve certainly considered it.

7:00-8:00

The preschoolers get out of bed. They may be awake by now, but they usually stay in their bed until their hatch light indicates they can get out of bed, which is 7. This means I’ve had some sort of time to think complete thoughts that originated in my head before I the day begins.

The kids begin their morning responsibilities by going to the bathroom and washing their hands. They sometimes help me make breakfast or sometimes they just snuggle on the couch talking to me as they wake up. We eat together and they complete their morning responsibilities, which involve cleaning up the table and floor from breakfast, getting dressed and taking their dirty clothes to the laundry room.

I made these magnetic flip charts to help them keep track of what they need to do next. They have really helped to establish habits and routines. My 5-year-old can complete all his tasks independently, but my (almost) 3-year-old still needs a few verbal reminders.

8:00-8:30 | Basket Time

This is a time we spend on the couch/floor/outside reading, singing, and purposefully moving. You can read more about what’s in our basket here.

8:30-9:00 | Wiggle Room

If it’s a great day, we are done with breakfast and dressed and ready for the day at 8:30. But some days we need a little extra time, whether we are packing up library books, got out of bed on the wrong side, or made a more time-consuming breakfast.

9:00-12:00

What we do during this time changes daily. Some days we visit our library’s story time. Sometimes we go for a nature walk. We do some preschool “work.” We meet with our Truth, Goodness, and Beauty Coop once a month. We go on a field trip once a month. Some days it’s just unstructured play at home. But no matter what we do, the hours from 7-9 stays the same. Keeping the initial part of our day the same no matter what keeps the days rolling smoothly when we do have to be out the door by a certain time.

12:00-1:00 | Lunch

1:00-2:00

I try not to use the computer or phone when my kids are awake. So I use their naptime to take care of updating the budget, scrapbooking, blogging, checking e-mails, meal planning, etc.

2:00-4:00

When the kids wake up from their nap they have a snack. Then they usually watch a show. Their playroom has to be clean in order to watch TV, so sometimes they choose to play instead. I’d like to swap out that show for an audiobook, but I just haven’t made that transition yet. Thankfully they are still happy with the 10-20 minute shows found on Amazon! I like that watching a show is a set time each day. This way they aren’t asking for it throughout the day. I use this time to run around like a madwoman doing laundry, dishes, and making it look like we didn’t destroy the house before Josh gets home! We also sometimes finish up preschool, take a walk, or play outside during this chunk of time.

4:00-5:00

This time is spent more or less like the hours before it, (play, indoors or out, for the kids, and housework for me) but I may be making preparations for supper.

5:00-6:00

I wish I could say that meal prep, eating, and cleanup all occur in this hour, but alas it just isn’t so. But if you were to visit our house between the hours of 5:00 and 6:00 you would find us doing one of those things.

6:00-7:00

This is our family time. We spend this time going to church, playing board games, reading a Bible story, acting out the Bible story on “skit night,” going for walks, fishing, going on bike rides, etc. We only do one of those things on any given night!

7:00-8:00

This begins our bedtime routine. I’m sure you have your own in place already, but it looks something like baths, teeth brushed, reading, praying, and me reciting the kids’ blessings.

8:00

I crash! Ok, I might intend to do something productive and get sucked into an episode of Andy Griffith that Josh is watching. Yes, we’re old at heart. Seriously though, that is the best show ever. Josh and I use  this time for monthly “staff meetings.” These are times when we discuss the calendar and budget for the month.

That’s it for our daily rhythm! What does your daily rhythm look like? Have you fallen into a rhythm yet?